And the Heavens Burn, A Norse Mythology-based fantasy series

Welcome to CHAPTER 63 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

This week, we’re back with Hodr. Hodr received a magical spear from Lopt. While holding the spear, Hodr can again see—not perfectly, but enough for it to potentially change his life.

Let’s rejoin him now.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 62 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

This week, we’re back with Odin. His last few chapters have dealt with him cutting out his eye so that he may see more clearly — what’s happening to his son Baldr, how Loki is (or is not) involved in what’s going on with Baldr, how Loki is (or is not) involved in the attack on Hals — which Vidar Odinsson is still investigating — and what may eventually happen for the Aesir as a people.

Readers know from Loki’s chapters that he is involved with the Jotunn…that he is planning to murder Baldr during the Midwinter celebration…and that the Jotunn are planning to attack Gladsheim shortly thereafter.

Readers also know that the Jotunn have discovered doorways that allow them to step from one place to another instantly. Vidar discovered one of those doorways. And readers know that there is one doorway inside Gladsheim’s walls and at least one other nearby — we know this because the Skrymir allowed Loki to see a map of where those doorways are.

There is also a mystery happening — Mimir, Odin’s uncle, discovered a ritual in Angrboda’s broken down house. Angrboda is Loki’s first wife. Together they had three children: Hel, Jorm and Fenrir. Readers don’t know what that ritual involved other than an apparent invocation directed toward a fang.

Readers have also learned that the Norns — who we’ve met — told Odin and Frigg that Baldr would die if he wasn’t protected. That’s why they hid his spirit in the mistletoe — which somebody figured out despite Odin and Frigg keeping that secret for a very long time. We saw that somebody cut out the heart of the mistletoe and took it away. What’s left on the tree where it grew was just enough to fool the casual eye that the entire plant remained.

The Norns also prophesied that the “monstrous children” of Angrboda and Loki would bring doom to the Aesir. That is why Odin decided to kill them…but according to the memory Odin discovered while staring into the pool of water near Mimir, Loki may have intervened and stopped him.

But, upon reflection — see what I did there! — Odin’s not entirely sure he can trust that memory because the water trickling down Yggdrasil and flowing over Mimir is the same water that feeds the Well of Urdr. And it was from that Well that a spirit arose and attacked him…for reasons that Odin doesn’t quite know, but he suspects that that spirit wanted to possess his body.

So, hopefully that recap makes sense. But whether it does or not, it’s time to rejoin Odin.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 61 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

This week, we’re back with Hodr. It’s been quite a few chapters since we were with him. Hodr spoke with the smith Lopt — that was the dude whose horse trampled Hodr. Lopt apologized and it seems he figured out that Hodr was the original Hodr — defender of the Old Bridge. This interaction awakened memories in Hodr of the man he’d been and brought this choice he appears faced with into focus.

Welcome to CHAPTER 60 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop. In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text. Last week was the one year anniversary of this podcast. Thank you for continuing to listen! There are 93 chapters in Kinsmen Die, so we’re nearly there. As you might expect, events will start coming to a head now. This week, we’re back with Vafthrudnir. It’s been quite a while since we were with him — he’d been with the apprentice shaman Kali and then he’d gone through the doorway that Beli and the warband Helveg found within the snow bear nest.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 59 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

We’re back with Frigg in this chapter. She had left the wounded Odin to go fetch Sleipnir which is Odin’s horse. Remember that Odin used a shaper -- basically a magic wand — that to open a tunnel through Yggdrasil’s root to access the glade in which Mimir’s Well is located.

That is where we find her now.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 58 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

We’re back with Odin in this chapter. While rescuing his uncle Mimir from a trap in the spirit world, Odin was badly wounded by a draugr. Last chapter we were with Frigg; she and Mimir conversed while Odin lay mostly unconscious nearby — though he was awake long enough to say he would raise Angrboda from the dead to get answers from her about the weird ritual in her house—which is where Mimir was trapped. At the end of the last chapter Frigg left to fetch Sleipnir so that she could get Odin back to Baldr for more thorough healing. So, Odin is awake now and kinda not happy.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 57 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

Frigg and Odin discovered that the "heart" of Baldr's mistletoe had been cut out and removed. When Baldr was born, Frigg and Odin had placed Baldr's spirit into that mistletoe by means of an ancient Jotunn blood magic. They did this because the Norns had told Odin that Baldr would die. By placing Baldr's spirit in the mistletoe, they made him impervious to all harm. Odin's hypothesis is that Baldr is "dying" at night b/c the mistletoe has been messed with. They don't know who did it or why, which is why Frigg and Odin rode down to visit Mimir. Mimir, it turns out, wasn't all there -- and not just b/c he's just a head w/o a body. Odin followed Mimir's trail into the spirit realm where he found Mimir held prisoner. Odin freed Mimir but not without getting wounded. While this was going on, Frigg was basically twiddling her thumbs and dreaming of the day she and Odin can leave Gladsheim behind and sail off into the sunset. This is where we find her.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 56 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.Vidar, Garilon, and the war band with them tracked the Jotunn warband into the mines beneath the mountains near the town of Hals which had been sacked. He was expecting to find their secret staging ground for that attack.What Vidar is doing is part of the larger mystery — for the Aesir — of how the Jotunn got to Hals in the first place as that town is way on the other side of Asgard from where Utgard connects. That’s why Odin and Frigg and the others focused in on the trade route that runs from Jotunheim, the main city in Utgard, to Ifington (which is where Hodr is) and then to Gladsheim, the main city in Asgard. That route is hundreds of miles long and runs through populated areas.Readers know, from the conversations between Skrymir and Loki, and Skrymir and Vafthrudnir, how the Jotunn got to Hals — through a doorway. Readers have also seen what those doorways look like, through Vafthrudnir and that attack on the snow bear nest.So in this chapter, Vidar catches up to where everybody else is. Let’s get started.1

Welcome to CHAPTER 55 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.

In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.

This week we’re back with Hodr. Last time we were with him, he had enjoyed his first night outside the way house where he lives with his girlfriend, Alara. He is visited by Geri, one of Odin’s wolves, who had brought a fresh fruit from Yggdrasil’s boughs. Hodr was strongly temped to eat of the fruit but smoke blown into his face discouraged him. He appears to be faced with a choice.

Please visit the podcast's public site for the episode transcript, which includes the entire chapter. Please review and/or share the show -- it is a huge help! And, please feel free to contact me: mattbishopwrites (at) gmail (dot) com.

You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/ The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/ The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm The source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htm Larrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.

Welcome to CHAPTER 54 of the Kinsmen Die podcast, home of fantasy fiction based on Norse mythology that’s written and read by me, Matt Bishop.In this podcast I read my first novel, Kinsmen Die, one chapter at a time. And, with each episode, when it makes sense, I provide some commentary about the source materials I’ve referenced in the text.This week we’re back with Odin. These events pick up right after Frigg’s chapter last week. So, let’s get right to the action. Please visit the podcast's public site for the episode transcript, which includes the entire chapter. Please review and/or share the show -- it is a huge help! And, please feel free to contact me: mattbishopwrites (at) gmail (dot) com.You can find me online at: https://mattwritesmyths.com/The show's public site is here: https://rss.com/podcasts/fensalirpodcast-kinsmendie/The source for my short reading from Snorri’s Prose Edda is here: https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htmThe source for my reading from the Havamol is here:https://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/poe/poe04.htmLarrington’s translation of the Havamol can be found where books are sold online.